Blog

10:30 PM Monday night Cyclone Mick skirted the north side of the Kadavu group bringing strong winds to the north and east side of the Astrolabe Reef. By tracking the storm for 2 days prior, we were able to make preparations to protect ourselves, the guests, and staff. Although it sounds serious, the storm only brought strong winds and heavy rains. Our sea wall worked like a charm and cleaning the ground of any loose items helped in getting through it all.

Aaron and Tara visited the Resort during the first week of November 2009. I remember the first day, checking out the camera gear after their refresher dive in front of the Resort. Nikon cameras, macro lenses, camera housing, and strobes, not to mention their normal diving gear. My initial thoughts were 'who needs all of this stuff?' But after I started looking at their pictures, I began to appreciate the gear and the patience that goes into making a beautiful photo.

Bruce and Shelley spent 8 days at the Resort at the tail end of August 2009. Bruce read about the Giant Trevallys near Ono Island in a fisherman's magazine before inquiring with Mai Dive. It took a little sweet talking to his wife and promises to take her snorkeling to make the trip happen. Luckily, they both left Fiji happy to snorkel at the Bulia Marine Reserve, Ono Lase, and at Split Rock while others were below scuba diving and also getting in some quality fishing time.

On Sunday, Siwa, Kuki, and myself took four guests out to the Alacrity Rocks region to scuba dive and snorkel. The first site we visited is called Yabu which is just inside the broken western side of the north Astrolabe Reef. The second site was probably Split Rock. I don't know for sure because I was asleep on the beach for most of the morning.

Frank and Melyse spent 10 days at the Resort during the beginning of October 2009. Having just been married in Australia, they wanted to spend a fun and relaxing honeymoon in Fiji. Most days Frank went diving with Petero all over the Astrolabe Reef while Melyse joined 2 other guests and Jason to complete their Open Water certification.

Fresh off their wedding in Australia, Justin and Naomi wanted to spend some time together doing what they enjoy the most--SPEAR FISHING!

I can remember sitting with Pete on the front lawn when I saw Naomi jumping into the water just in front of their bungalow with a mask, snorkel, fins, and her spear gun. Upon closer inspection, Justin was right behind her with all of his gear and his spear gun. It wasn't even 1 hour from the time they arrived on the beach of Mai Dive to the time they were in the water fishing. Apparently the water where they fish in Australia is cloudy and rough unlike the waters of Fiji. So when they saw the calm water and the immaculate reef 50 yards from their bungalow, they jumped at the opportunity to get started as soon as possible.

After only a few minutes of thinking about our first Mai Dive! Blog post, the consensus was to write about Franz's solo circumnavigation around Kadavu and Ono Island.

Our initial reaction is to spread the word about the great kayaking around the Astrolabe Reef. To spread the word about the secluded beaches, crystal clear waters, and the friendly people in Fiji. But that all takes a back seat to spreading the word about Franz.